Ugly father, gorgeous daughter - How to Steal a Million (1966) Discussion

[–] Gary-161 15 years ago

I've never thought about about that before but you are absolutely right. He has a nose like an arriving Amtrak. Maybe her mother was so astoundingly beautiful that her genetics cancelled out his buggy-eyes.

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[–] WarpedRecord 15 years ago

That's very true. There's also the possibility that, ahem, he wasn't her real father.

In real life, Jack Palance was hardly a looker, but his daughter was stunningly beautiful.

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[–] Gary-161 15 years ago

Well, Klaus Kinski looked like a deformed dwarf and look at Nastassja Kinski. Just typing the name makes me turn to jelly.

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[–] WarpedRecord 15 years ago

After your reminder about the homely/beautiful Kinskis, the example in this film seems mild by comparison. Not only was Klaus Kinski's appearance repulsive to any right-thinking individual, he had a personality to match.

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[–] Gary-161 15 years ago

Homely? Well, only if it's my home. Actually, it's more like a room so she would have to be in very close vicinity to me twenty four hours a day. Eight hours usually reserved for sleep. I presume she is still seventeen?

"Papa?" "Nastassja!"

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[–] WarpedRecord 15 years ago

Yes, Roman, she's eternally 17. ;-)

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[–] AtomicReturns (1252) 8 years ago

"I've never thought about about that before but you are absolutely right. He has a nose like an arriving Amtrak. Maybe her mother was so astoundingly beautiful that her genetics cancelled out his buggy-eyes."

LMAO @ Amtrak line

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[–] monroehepburn 15 years ago

hahah i love this thread. it's true, he's ugly and audrey is obviously one of the most gorgeous people to ever have lived. idk. it's called show business haha =]

“If you produce one book you will have done something wonderful in your life.”
~Jackie Kennedy<3

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[–] WarpedRecord 15 years ago

Yes, indeed, that's showbiz. It appears Hollywood cares a lot more about beautiful women than attractive men, at least when this film was made. Oh well, both father and daughter are delightful in this film, so I'm not complaining.

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[–] velcronewsletter 14 years ago

i guess the mother died when she was young and she's been daddys girl ever since. in theory, she must have been a beauty for audrey's character to have been so stunning. i also compared to the obvious looks between them and wondered how they could get away with such an unresemblance :P

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[–] WarpedRecord 14 years ago

It's an amazing difference isn't it? But it probably provides hope for children of ugly parents (not that children necessarily judge their parents looks like outsiders probably do). I guess a lot of it is nature vs. nurture, and what nature did to him, he nurtured out of her.

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[–] HoneyBakedHam 14 years ago

Assuming Nicole's mother was also beautiful it astounds me how he got a woman like her in the first place!
She calls him Papa so he is her father in the movie I would assume. Funny stuff

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[–] WarpedRecord 14 years ago

It's amazing, isn't it? With all due respect to Hugh Griffith, I guess homeliness is a recessive gene in this case.

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[–] HoneyBakedHam 14 years ago

Yeah definately. Maybe it wasnt something that was meant to be taken seriously, but I do see the humour in it.

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[–] SepiaLife 14 years ago

I think the dynamic reached far beyond that of appearance. Sure, Audrey was gorgeous and Hugh Griffith wasn't, but they had a similar charm, playfulness, and concern in their respective performances. I could definitely believe that they were father and daughter.

Optimism: Waiting for a ship to come in when you haven't sent one out.

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[–] trpdean 13 years ago

Fun thread! Have you noticed how often Audrey's characters have fathers and no mothers?

Sabrina (widower chauffeur father),

Love in the Afternoon (widower private detective father),

Paris When It Sizzles (don't we see her father but not her mother? I haven't seen it in a long time),

her only family in Breakfast at Tiffany's is a father-like husband,

Aside from War & Peace, was Audrey EVER given a mother in film?

And when she had little family, she was involved so often with men old enough to be fathers or at least uncles: Gregory Peck in Roman Holiday, Gary Cooper in Love in the Afternoon, Cary Grant in Charade, Humphrey Bogart in Sabrina.

Her characters were definitely "I charm daddy" kinds of roles! And utterly charming!

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[–] Emmywins305 11 years ago

In The Unforgiven, for once Audrey's character has a mother and NO FATHER. That was a rarity.

In Green Mansions, she has a grandfather-figure, but she talks to her dead mother constantly (which is a bit weird).

I think in Paris When It Sizzles neither of her parents are seen.

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[–] jd-276 12 years ago

Sure, Audrey was gorgeous and Hugh Griffith wasn't, but they had a similar charm, playfulness, and concern in their respective performances. I could definitely believe that they were father and daughter.

I had exactly the same response to it. The chemistry is very good - a strong point of the film.

Hugh Griffith was actually an inspired choice. He plays the rogue so well.

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[–] MetFanMac 13 years ago

It's amusing how no one in this entire thread seems to have noticed that Dermott repeatedly calls attention to the resemblance between Nicole and the statue, which was modeled after her grandmother. Obviously, beauty genes run in the family, and simply skipped the generation in between.

Supermodels...spoiled stupid little stick figures mit poofy lips who sink only about zemselves.

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[–] WarpedRecord 13 years ago

Excellent point on the statue! I need to watch this again and look for that.

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[–] MystMoonstruck 12 years ago

Eddie Albert was an average-looking guy, but his son, Edward Albert Jr., was beautiful, truly a gorgeous man. Margo was rather exotic and unusual looking, but Edward turned out extraordinary.

Christopher Plummer is a very handsome man, but Amanda's looks definitely range from average to drab though she's a good actress though not the powerhouse her father is.

Jamie Lee Curtis has a rather offbeat look that has worked well for her in films. But, she's the daughter of the dazzling Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh.

Genetics does some strange things.

*** The trouble with reality is there is no background music. ***

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[–] WarpedRecord 12 years ago

Excellent examples, MystMoonstruck. Here's another that comes to mind immediately:

Nastassja Kinski is an exquisite beauty who somehow managed to survive the genetic curse of being Klaus Kinski's daughter.

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[–] Moscoso1967 11 years ago

Yes, there are many examples like this.
Of course, there are some daughters who look a lot like their fathers (e.g. Jane Fonda definitely has her father's eyes), but it isn't impossible for an ugly father to have a beautiful daughter (e.g. the daughter of Chris de Burgh became Miss World in 2003), therefore it never bothered me that there is no resemblance between father and daughter in this movie.

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[–] premium_to_the_max 12 years ago

In the movie it is clearly stated he is her grandfather, not father, even though she calls him "papa."

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[–] Jalea 10 years ago

Actually, he is her dad. In the movie, they explain that He did not do the sculpture of her grandmother(because he would have been eight years old in 1910 when the sculpture was created). This would have put him in his early 70s.

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[–] MystMoonstruck 11 years ago

I do have to admit that, when I was a little girl and saw Hugh Griffith, I had a sort-of crush on him. I've always found him fascinating, with a fierce look but gentle ways, regal and a bit imperious. As an older woman, I still find him attractive~truly and honestly! I'm not crazy about face-fur, but I could overlook that.

He's a wonderful character actor, and I felt he had an inner beauty.

Of course, that seems to be the way of the Baby Boomer female. Captain Kirk was handsome, but we were enthralled by Spock. We had a mad crush on Barnabas Collins and not so much David Selby or other attractive males on "Dark Shadows". Instead of the elegant Napoleon Solo, we went crazy over Illya Kuryakin. For every "pretty boy", there was someone who was not traditionally handsome. Or, maybe that's just girls/women considering that Frank Sinatra and Humphrey Bogart had their devoted female following.

Aren't men often puzzled: What does she see in HIM?!

*** The trouble with reality is there is no background music. ***

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[–] yurenchu 9 years ago

With all due respect for the late Hugh Griffith, how could that man possibly product a beauty as sublime as Audrey Hepburn? And whatever became of her mother?

The father may have developed a rather quirky/ugly face over the years as a result of a rather unhealthy lifestyle (indulging in too much/too fatty/too sugary food, drinking lots of wine, smoking lots of tobacco; getting very little physical exercise, spending lots of time in a stuffy moldy attic with no direct sunlight and constantly exposed to a wide variety of paint chemicals and "Van Gogh dust"). He may have been much more handsome in his younger days.

As to the whereabouts of her mother: maybe the father and mother are simply separated. There were several (humorous) allusions to the idea that the father might have been (a closeted) gay.

I do realize that I may be a bit too reaching and over-analyzing on what's possibly just a simple romantic comedy movie, but it does seem to add all up.

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